TULSA, OK—In the CHL, every win is important obviously but for the Tulsa Oilers it’s bordering on a requirement as the end of the season looms large before them. In Tulsa’s case, winning means the first post season berth since 2005, a goal that given the team’s history over the past 3 seasons is to many fans better than winning a championship
Right now, though the Oilers have played decently for most of the season the team’s playoff chances are murky at best. As of tonight, the Oilers sit in 6th place with 56 points, some 4 points out of the 5th and final playoff spot currently occupied by Missouri, who has an even 60 points. The situation isn’t dire by any stretch but there is a sense of urgency to the Tulsa Oilers this night as they host the Mississippi Riverkings in the friendly confines of the amazing BOK Center.
The Oilers would play this game without the coach as Bruce Ramsay is in Canada to take care of family matters. In his place is injured defenseman Tyler Fleck who is recovering from shoulder surgery. Tulsa comes into the game holding a 4-1-0 home record over Mississippi and a 6-2-0 record against them overall. The last time the two teams met, the hero was forward Dan Riedel, who scored in OT to seal up a 3-2 victory on February 12th.
The Oilers owned the 1st period, outscoring the Riverkings 3-1 on goals by Adam Bartholomay at 2:52 of the first when he took a cross-ice pass from Aaron Davis and buried it behind Riverkings goalie Tim Boron. At 7:41, Dan Riedel slammed home a one-timer off a pass from David Alexandre Beauregard with additional help from Adam Bartholomay. With Luke Stauffacher ion the box on a goalie interference call, Troy “what power play? “Riddle netted a shorthanded goal with help from defenseman Derek Eastman and Jake Riddle. The Riverkings did manage to get on the board at 19:33 when Glenn Detulleo found the back of the net behind Oilers netminder Marco Emond with help from Matt Summers and Ryan Held.
Mississippi would close to within a goal when Stephen Margeson put one past Emond to make the score 3-2. The second period would see a scary moment when after he had made a safe at close range, Marco Emond was slow to get up from the ice and after play was stopped, Oilers trainer Stuart Nichols conferred with him for several minutes. Emond recovered and it was like flipping a switch because he teammates responded by scoring a pair of goals, the first coming from Tyler Butler on the power play at 11:08 assisted by Aaron Davis and Dan Riedel. Then Jeff Gumaer got the Oilers 5th marker at 12:04 assisted by Luke Stauffacher and Sean Erickson.
The shorthanded situation proved to be a non-disadvantage as Marty Standish rushed in on Tim Boron and shoved it in on his right side unassisted at 7:44. The Riverkings would close to within 3 goals when Ryan Held rifled a shot past Marco Emond that entered the net just inside right right post and followed the curve of the net at 17:45 assisted by Kevin Truelson. The game would end with the Oilers topping the Riverkings by a score of 6-3.
The Oilers gain 2 crucial points in the standings and move closer to the Missouri Mavericks and the 5th playoff spot. Two players scored shorthand tonight, and Tyler Butler continued a remarkable streak with his power play goal in the 2nd period, as all of his 9 goals this season have come when Tulsaq has been either on the power play or penalty kill. In all, the 6 goals scored tonight by Tulsa were scored by a different player.
The Oilers continue the final homestand of the season this Friday facing the CHL North leading Rapid City Rush and finish oit the home season on Saturday night with a showdown against Missouri. Both games start at 7:35pm and tickets for those games can be purchased at tulsaoilers.com, the BOK Center box office, and all Reasors locations. If you can’t make the game, listen to the action live at edgetulsa.com with Steve McCall providing the play-by-play call.
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Photos by: Kevin Pyle
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 32
Tulsa 38
POWERPLAYS
Mississippi 0 for 7 : Tulsa 1 for 3
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Tulsa – Adam Bartholomay (Aaron Davis) 2:52
Tulsa – Dan Riedel (David Beauregard, Adam Bartholomay) 7:41
Tulsa – Troy Riddle (shorthanded) (Derek Eastman, Jake Riddle) 10:04
Mississippi – Glenn Detulleo (extra attacker) (Matt Summers, Ryan Held) 19:33
Period 2
Mississippi – Stephen Margeson (Elias Godoy) 6:15
Tulsa – Tyler Butler (powerplay) (Aaron Davis, Dan Riedel) 11:08
Tulsa – Jeff Gumaer (Luke Stauffacher, Sean Erickson) 12:04
Period 3
Tulsa – Marty Standish (shorthanded) (unassisted) 7:44
Mississippi – Ryan Held (Kevin Truelson) 17:45
PENALTIES
Period 1
Tulsa – Luke Stauffacher – (Goalie Interference), 2 min, 9:03
Tulsa – Luke Stauffacher – (Roughing), 2 min, 15:40
Mississippi – Elias Godoy – (Roughing), 2 min, 15:40
Period 2
Mississippi – Glenn Detulleo – (Hooking), 2 min, 0:09
Mississippi – Andrew Lackner – (Hooking), 2 min, 1:07
Tulsa – Thomas Harrison – (Hooking), 2 min, 3:56
Mississippi – Ken Davis – (Interference), 2 min, 9:32
Period 3
Tulsa – Derek Eastman – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 1:09
Tulsa – Derek Eastman – (Tripping), 2 min, 7:01
Tulsa – Jake Riddle – (Interference), 2 min, 13:56
Tulsa – Derek Eastman – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 18:44
Tulsa – Thomas Harrison – (Roughing), 2 min, 18:44
OTHER FACTS
GAME LENGTH: 2:31
ATTENDANCE: 3,670
REFEREE: Ryan Hersey
LINES 1: Jordan Crowell
LINES 2: Benjamin Dupuis
1ST STAR: Butler, Tyler (TUL)
2ND STAR: Emond, Marco (TUL)
3RD STAR: Riedel, Dan (TUL)